A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all California prison workers to get shots against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus unless they have a religious or medical exemption. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week approved a request for a stay (or temporary stop) of the order pending appeal. The vaccination mandate was set to go into effect by Jan. 12, but Friday’s stay blocks it from being enforced until March. The appeals court’s decision came after a request for a stay of a September ruling by a lower court pending an appeal. The appeals court also sped up the hearing process by setting a Dec. 13 deadline for opening briefs. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar was the judge who issued the vaccination mandate to get thousands of prison workers vaccinated. The judge followed the recommendation of a court-appointed receiver who was chosen to manage …